Red Wings

Xavier Ouellet will not be protected by the Red Wings in the expansion draft

Red Wings defenseman Xavier Ouellet could soon find himself as a member of the NHL‘s newest franchise as early as next week.

According to Elliot Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada, Ouellet won’t be part of Detroit‘s protected list meaning he’ll be available to the Las Vegas Golden Knights when they select their team during the NHL Expansion Draft.

Among DET's unprotected is Xavier Ouellet. GM Ken Holland said on HockeyCentral this week he was making no side deals…1/2

Just because Ouellet won’t be protected doesn’t mean he’ll be selected by Las Vegas. However the 23-year-old could be a very intriguing option. Not to mention the Wings are certainly going to be rolling the dice on the chances they lose a guy who became a regular face on the Detroit blue line. After appearing in the lineup sporadically prior to this past season, Ouellet found consistency in 2016-17 managing 12 points in 66 games.

With the rumors surrounding Ouellet, it’s been assumed the Red Wings will end up protecting Nick Jensen instead. However early speculation is Riley Sheahan will end up being the player taken once the Golden Knights make their way to Detroit’s roster.

If that’s the case I’m sure the Red Wings will be perfectly fine with losing a guy in Sheahan who didn’t score his first goal until the final game of this past season.

We’ll get the full scope on who the Red Wings will be protecting on Sunday at 10 am. We’ll learn who they lost during the NHL Awards Show next Wednesday.

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